Thank Goodness for the Philodendron

When we moved into our house my mother-in-law gave me this beautiful philodendron plant. She didn't have space for it. I was hesitant to take it at the time--not only do I not have a green thumb, it seems I've been cursed with a black one. Most... dare I say all plants which come under my care are doomed. All except this wonderfully gracious and forgiving philodendron. I remember someone telling me at the time that it is almost impossible to kill one. Something like, "Just give it a little water every once in awhile and it will be fine. They're pretty hearty." Thankfully, this has proven to be true which deepens my appreciation for the plant itself, almost giving me a relationship with it. For me, it has come to symbolize everything in my life that does not get the deserved attention and still survives. Things like the shower walls and the ironing.... and my blog, of course. The job of homemaking leaves plenty of room to feel guilty and overwhelmed. I think I'm better off realizing that some things are going to be okay if they're put off until tomorrow, or many tomorrows, or until my kids are grown up. (Hopefully I'll scrub out my shower at least a few times between now and then.) Anyway, that's what I think of when I look at this plant. Then I remember that I should probably water it.

Head Shoulders Knees and Toes

I've tried to post this cute video of Monica several times but have only just succeeded due to some spotty internet and other technical difficulties. Anyway, this is from our family reunion this last July. Hope you enjoy our cute Monica.

The Hot Tamamas! Running the Ragnar

I know this is just what you've all been waiting for: pictures of the Ragnar Relay trip. It was so much fun, though it was definitely the hardest thing I've done.

Thursday Night

Decorating the Vans and put-luck dinner with the team.

Then the ladies in van 1 and spent the night in a hotel to be there for a 7:30 AM starting time.

Check out Katrina's the pepper-wrapping skills. I was impressed.

This is Tristalene writing "Sweet and Spicy" on our windows, and

Christine is in the background busting out more decorative streamers and ribbons.

This is me painting flames on the bottom of the van.

Friday morning

We woke up and met with the other Van 2ers. We drove about 2 hours north and met up with the first 1/2 of the team around 12:30. Then we all ran our respective legs! I was runner 8, so this is me running my first leg of 3.4 miles.

This is our whole van after Tristalene, runner 12, finished her leg. We were so excited! A third of the way done.

(Notice the pepper strapped to the top of the van.)

Friday Night

After we finished the first legs we went and got Subway sandwiches and drove to our next big exchange where we would meet van 1 again. It was about 9:30 and we were expecting them around 11:30 so we unrolled our sleeping bags on the grass at the high school. There were people sprawled out everywhere and vans coming and going, plus we were still excited and wanting to be ready when our other van got there... needless to say, we didn't get any sleep. But they arrived at 11:30 and Dana took off on our first night run. We didn't take any good pics of our night runs because they wouldn't turn out very well. But we all had to wear reflective vests and head lamps and tail lights. It also got very cold. But we did it! Tristalene finished her run right around 5:00 in the morning, just as the sun was coming up. It was pretty inspiring and crazy. Then we drove to our next big exchange and rolled our sleeping bags out on the gym floor at that high school. I was very glad it was inside this time! I have never been so grateful for an hour and a half of sleep in my life! We all woke up around 6:45 and prepared for our last stretch of the race.

Saturday Morning

This is us that morning after we all put our team t-shirts on.

We were super sore but anxious to get going again.

This is me after I ran my last leg and snapped the snap bracelet on Elizabeth.

This is all 12 of us after we crossed the finish line!

We had just collectively run 188 miles. Whew! Go Hot Tamamas!

Teefers!

Here is one cute baby girl

And here are her new teeth in all their splendor!

Don't let the adorable smile lure you into sticking your finger in there...

Mr. Smarty Pants

A couple of vignettes about Cally-wag. You probably won't think they're as funny as I do, but as his mother I feel compelled to share the joy.

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This morning we made fruit smoothies with our breakfast. It was just funny listening to a four-and-a-half year old explain to a two-and-a-half year old what a brain freeze is. It sounded something like, "No, Monica-- a brain freeze! Like, my BRAIN is FREEZING!"

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Two nights ago in the car Cal started intently pounding out a rhythm on his booster seat and asked me to guess what song it was. I listened a couple of times. "Is it from a movie?" "No, it's from church." Hmmmm. I started going through all the recent primary songs in my mind, to no avail. Jeff couldn't figure it out either. Finally after about 3 or 4 more times I said, "I don't know. Do you want me to keep guessing or do you want to just tell me?" "It's Death Shall Not Conquer, Mom." Jeff and I looked at each other. We were both pretty sure there's not a hymn called "Death Shall Not Conquer." "I wish there was a hymn called that," Jeff joked under his breath to me. Then after a couple of minutes he (Jeff) started humming "Praise to the Man." We all sort of had it on our brains because the choir had just sung it in Sacrament Meeting, but Jeff had made some subconscious connection that "Praise to the Man" has a line that says, "Death shall not conquer the hero again." Aha! And sure enough, the rhythm fit.

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We live by this open space that is populated by some kind of cotton tree variety. On a summer afternoon the wind picks up and tufts of cotton blow through the streets. Sometimes it looks like it's snowing. Yesterday we were driving somewhere and saw some fluff floating around and Cal said, "Mom! Guess what! Cotton candy is a kind of pink fluff.... that you can eat!! It's like you think you can't eat it, but you CAN! It's weird!"

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On the return trip I noticed that a crayon that had been sitting in the sun in our car was a little squishy. I thought the kids would get a kick out of it, so I showed them how I could bend it and tried to explain that that's what wax does when it's warm. Cal wanted to try to bend a couple of the crayons on the way home. When we did arrive home and get out of the car, his whole face lit up and he said something like, "Mom, I have a GREAT idea! I'm going to put these crayons in hot water and bend them, and then put them in cold water and bring them back to life!" He then turned our upstairs bathroom into a crayon-bending factory, with hot water in one sink and cold water in the other. Now he calls them rainbow crayons, so if you want any let me know. I know someone who would love to make some for you. :)

Ouchie

Three days ago Monica woke up with a random puffy, red eyelid. It's stuck around this whole time and finally today the swelling started to go down. She hasn't complained about it too much... I think it looks more painful than it is. Jeff finally figured it's a chalazion, which is sort of like a sty on the inside of the eyelid. Poor sweetie. She looks a little like she got in a street fight, but I still think she's super cute.

Uhh... My Kid Eats Rocks.

Should I be concerned?

The funniest part was watching her look at me when I'd take a rock away, quickly deciding it wasn't worth throwing a fit or trying to get it back.

Better to go for another one.